It’s been a seven year wait for the hundreds of Giants fans that take themselves to Nottingham year-in-year-out looking for their team to deliver the goods, but at long last and for the first time since 2003 the Belfast Giants can call themselves Elite League Playoff Champions again. I wasn’t there this year, but if 2003 taught me anything it is that when the Giants win this trophy the weekend becomes one of the biggest and best parties of the year and no doubt it was great times in Nottingham again last night and this morning plenty of sore heads. The Giants turned around a poor first two periods of play while throwing away a two goal lead to put in a fine effort in the third, a strong overtime and then a tight and tense shootout to win it. A playoff final should never ever be decided by the way of a shootout, but that’s how it is in Britain, and while I don’t agree with it, in this case, I’ll gladly deal with it and revel in the moment that my team are the Champions again, even though I never got to see them in person this year.

Read More»

Starting now, for the first time ever, is live TV coverage of the EIHL playoff final and it’s between two non-English sides, the Belfast Giants and Cardiff Devils. I’m off to retrieve one of my chilled beers and ready to enjoy the big game. I wish I was there and if I was I would doubtlessly be drunk, but if you can’t be there, getting to see it live on TV is the next best option and I’m glad Sky Sports have come through. This is the Giants second ever playoff final with their previous one being in 2003 when they beat the London Knights.

The show has just started and one of the analysits is Steelers coach and ex-Giant Dave Matsos. The year the Giants won the trophy in ’03 he scored one of the goals.

Enjoy.

Late last night I was very tempted to get onto the Internet and book a flight, any flight, to England and somehow make my way to Nottingham for 4 p.m. to watch the playoff final now that the Giants are actually playing in it. I’ve waited 6 years for the Giants to get into the playoff final again and now that they finally have, I’m not able to be there to enjoy it. I can only imagine the craic in the bars around Nottingham last night and the celebrations of the Giants fans as their team eliminated the big rich Nottingham Panthers in a shootout. WInning a playoff game in a shootout sounds disgraceful, but it’s the only way in a tournament were the semi’s are on the Saturday and the final on the Sunday but if the game is going to go the shootout, you may as well win it.

I’ve been to 7 playoff weekends and only once has the Giants actually got to the final (going on to win it in 2003). So now they’re back there, I’m going to have to make-do with the TV coverage. Saying that, I shouldn’t be so dismissive of the ‘TV coverage,’ for this is the first time ever the playoff final has been broadcast live on TV and the timing couldn’t have been better; I’m not there, I’m back in the UK for the first time in 15-months, and I’ve a Sunday afternoon to waste.

Nottingham are the team in the EIHL that everyone loves to hate, at least everyone who supports the Steelers and the Giants and when the Giants put them out last night they left the Panthers without a league or playoff trophy yet again and the fans lapped it up. The Giants took an early lead before blowing a late goal which sent the game into overtime. Just like in 2003 when the Giants last won the playoff championship, their semi-final ended in a tight scoreline (0-0 against Sheffield that year) to go into overtime and a shootout. The Giants never do things the easy way so the shootout was inevitable and it was Jeff Szwez one of the Giants most clutch players this season and perhaps of all-time who delivered the goods with two goals in the shootout to book the Giants place in the final. In 2003 it was Kevin Riehl’s shootout heroics that put the Giants into the final and back then when they reached the final it was two goals by Shane Johnson who helped the Giants win the thing over London Knights. This year the game will be the last professional Hockey game by Shane Johnson and wouldn’t it be nice to see him go out with another big performance and victory.

Brilliant news folks. Big bad Coventry Blaze were stuffed 6-3 by Cardiff Devils in the first semi-final of the EIHL playoffs meaning that their dreams of a league and playoff double are over and meaning that if the Giants can beat Nottingham this evening it’ll be the first playoff final that doesn’t feature an English team. Wouldn’t that be nice?

So far it’s been a wonderful weekend of sport for a Giants and Liverpool fan. United lost to Chelsea, Spurs lost to Sunderland and Coventry are out of the playoffs. And that is a very nice set of welcome gifts upon my return to Belfast for my first visit in fifteen months and a nice consolation for not being able to make the playoff final weekend for the second time in a row now.

There was no choking at the first hurdle for the Giants this year as they brushed aside the Newcastle Vipers in two games to move to the final four tournament, next weekend in Nottingham. The Giants won their home leg on Saturday night 4-1 before thumping the Vipers in their own barn 6-2 tonight. Everyone came good for the Giants in both games with the home game being especially poignant as it was the last at the Odyssey for Shane Johnson who retires at the end of the season. Johnson, the Giants first ever MVP back in their first ever season in 2000/01 and who scored two goals in the playoff final in 2003, picked up the man-of-the-match on the night.

Evan Cheverie was the Giants top man on the score sheet bagging two goals in each game while Jeff Szwez continued his clutch play with three goals over the two legs to help the Giants through.

A 10-3 aggregate victory is always pretty comprehensive and hopefully the team can build on this scoring form next weekend and win their second ever playoff crown. I’ll be back in the UK during the final four weekend but, for the second year running and third year since 2000, won’t be able to attend though temptation will be very high to book a last second flight should they actually make the final on the Sunday.